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From Orlando to Venezuela: A Community Comes Together After Earthquake Disaster
Photos: Hope CommUnity Center
On June 24, Venezuela was struck by a rare seismic doublet, with two powerful earthquakes occurring less than a minute apart. Measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, the quakes killed thousands of people, damaged infrastructure, and left countless families searching for shelter and basic necessities.
Central Florida’s Venezuela Community
As communities across Venezuela continue to recover from the devastation, relief efforts have extended far beyond the country’s borders. According to WESH 2, Central Florida is home to approximately 127,000 Venezuelans.
Local organizations have begun mobilizing to support those affected, and among them is Hope CommUnity Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formally established in Apopka in 2007 and dedicated to empowering immigrants and other historically marginalized communities.
Pulp City Magazine spoke with Daniella Tenorio, service-learning manager and community organizer at Hope CommUnity Center, who is also Venezuelan. She said that shortly after learning about the earthquakes, she reached out to Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, the organization’s executive director, to discuss how Hope could support both the local Venezuelan community and those affected back home.
“We had a meeting with a few Venezuelan leaders from other organizations, and they were already doing like drive-ins, but they didn’t have a point place to drop off donations or organize them,” Tenorio said. “So we kind of offered the space of Hope as a donation center.”
Venezuela Relief Donations Accepted at Hope CommUnity Center
According to Tenorio, Hope CommUnity Center is accepting donations through July 30. She explained that once collected, the supplies will be transported to the Global Empowerment Mission warehouse in Miami, where they will be prepared for secure international shipment and distributed directly to communities in need across Venezuela.
Among the most urgently needed items are baby formula, diapers, children’s clothing, batteries, over-the-counter medications, sleeping bags, blankets and basic tools. “We also want people to keep in mind that things like cartons of milk and everything that can explode […] we want to avoid those kinds of things,” Tenorio added.
Mental Health Support for Venezuelans in Central Florida
As relief efforts got underway, Tenorio said she realized the disaster was affecting not only people in Venezuela, but also members of the Venezuelan diaspora who felt powerless watching events unfold from thousands of miles away, including herself.
“I think it was just really hard to watch everything unfold and feel like you couldn’t do anything, so especially [because] I haven’t been in Venezuela in like almost 10 years,” Tenorio said. “So watching everything happen, it was just like a way of reminding myself how it looked, but in the worst sense ever.”
With that in mind, Hope CommUnity Center expanded its response beyond collecting supplies by offering crisis intervention counseling sessions for Venezuelans living in Central Florida.
“It’s only one to two sessions, but it tells you how to cope with loss, grieving, or any kind of crisis that you’re undergoing,” Tenorio said. “Because we know how hard it is to be away from your country and how hard it is to be away from your family in times like this. So we also wanted to prioritize our community in the States.”
Tenorio explained that Hope CommUnity Center serves as a bridge between community members and licensed mental health professionals by connecting those seeking support with therapists who provide virtual counseling sessions. “We have to get up and continue moving on with our work, but we’re still carrying that [pain]. I think we just needed that space so people can be vulnerable and express themselves however they want to.”
How Central Floridians Can Support Victims of Venezuelan Earthquakes
Tenorio also encouraged people outside the Venezuelan community to get involved. Whether by sharing information about the disaster, reposting donation drives, volunteering to organize supplies, or contributing essential items, every act of support can make a meaningful difference, she said. “A simple thing as sharing information, educating people on what’s been happening, and donating your time and your effort, I think that’s enough.”
As the Venezuelan community continues to mourn the thousands of lives lost in the earthquakes, Tenorio believes the tragedy has also highlighted the strength and compassion that can emerge during times of crisis. “I think moments like this remind us that time is short, and that we have to be grateful to be here, and that we also have a task, and [that] is to be compassionate,” she said.
Donations can be dropped off at Hope CommUnity Center, located at 1016 N. Park Ave., Apopka. Those who would like to learn more about the organization’s work can visit the Hope CommUnity Center website.
At the time this article was published, more than 5,000 people had been confirmed dead, and more than 50,000 remained missing following the earthquakes in Venezuela.
Editor’s Note: Central Floridians can find support and additional ways to donate through the website of Casa de Venezuela, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting the Venezuelan community and the broader Latino diaspora in their journey of making Central Florida home.
Mike Synan
News | Sports | Politics
- After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
